Is online shopping now failing to deliver the goods?

[TrueBlueTerrier]

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IT SEEMS most of us have been there. And it can be incredibly frustrating!

Finding yourself sitting at home waiting for an online delivery with a vague timeslot that appears to span the entire day isn't really good enough.

And figures show that around a quarter of us have experienced problems with deliveries of online purchases within the last year – and many of us would like to have items delivered on a Sunday.

Consumer watchdog Which? has made the delivery problem discovery after carrying out a survey of more than 10,000 people, which found that 26 per cent reported issues such as parcels being late (17 per cent), not delivered (3 per cent ) or even parcels arriving damaged (2 per cent).

More than one in three of those surveyed said not being able to find a suitable delivery time slot was an irritant when spending money online. The study comes as it was revealed that Royal Mail, Amazon and Yodel are creating 37,000 temporary jobs to cope with the Christmas rush.

Royal Mail is creating 19,000 temporary positions, Yodel 5,000 and Amazon 13,000 – of which it hopes 1,000 staff will take up permanent positions.

Speed of delivery has become a key battleground for the online delivery market.

House of Fraser announced last week that it is launching a 13-hour delivery promise with purchases made by 8pm guaranteed by 9am the next day.

Meanwhile, a new report from Barclays, The Last Mile Report 2014, predicted that the number of deliveries in the UK is expected to rise by 40 per cent between 2013 and 2018 to reach 1.35 billion.

And, on the flip side of the delivery coin, the survey found that consumers not being in to receive their packages is the number one issue for logistics firms, topping managing costs and managing peak times.

Improved tracking and notification alerts are the biggest areas for future development as logistics firms are looking to invest in driving growth.

Over a third of logistics providers said Sunday deliveries was the next most important area for consideration.

Which? executive director, Richard Lloyd, said: "One of the attractions of shopping online is the convenience of having your items delivered but we've found the experience can be anything but convenient.

"We want shops to do more to ensure that the service is first class, first time. Retailers need to respond to consumers' demands and stamp out dodgy deliveries."

Some firms are making it easier for customers to collect their shopping when it suits them.

Amazon has its own set of locker pick up points at some supermarkets and London Underground stations and Network Rail set up Doddle, an online collection and returns service based in railway stations.

Last year Amazon unveiled its secret research project which it claims will be the future of home delivery – packages delivered by drones. Mike Rigby, head of manufacturing, transport and logistics at Barclays, said: "A competitive and growing delivery market is an exciting place to be at present. Where there is growth, there is opportunity and the real winners will be those who invest in technology and innovation.

"The evolving dynamic between retailers offering a range of delivery options and consumers demanding more flexible delivery methods is an interesting one.

"However, the predicted growth over the next few years clearly highlights that the opportunities are there for those operators who carefully reassess their delivery strategy and continue to innovate and invest in fulfilling the all-important 'last mile'."

The Last Mile is a term in the transport and logistics industry which describes the last part in the goods delivery process – covering the distance from the warehouse or depot to the customer's chosen delivery address.

[daveallum]

Yes,Royal Mail are employing 19,000 temporary workers but if my experience of 8 years in delivery is anything to go by,none will be employed on deliveries,so the same problems will still be there.

[Sir Henry]

Are Online Shoppers Failing To Grasp The Reality That You Get The Service You Pay For?
Does The Sense Of Entitlement Of Online Shoppers Really F*ck You Off?

[bustedflush]

Are Online Shoppers Failing To Grasp The Reality That You Get The Service You Pay For?
Does The Sense Of Entitlement Of Online Shoppers Really F*ck You Off?

What happened to good old Sundays where the pubs would be open only a couple of hours at lunchtime, stores were shut apart from the newsagents and sh!te TV during the day ensured families could socialize or go out and people would not be working??
Are people that f***ing desperate for their £1.79 fake phone charger from China or their sodding meerkats that they will sit longingly by the door on a Sunday eagerly awaiting their next bit of tat??
No wonder stress and depression are prevalent in society. Football was only on Saturday, if we got a good kicking we had Sunday to recover and now we're expected to either work, do shopping, drive up the motorway or order fripperies from Scamazon or feeBay.

[Budfrog]

Are Online Shoppers Failing To Grasp The Reality That You Get The Service You Pay For?
Does The Sense Of Entitlement Of Online Shoppers Really F*ck You Off?

Without online shoppers RM would have resorted to compulsory redundancies years ago .... and not just managerial ones.

[Nigel1505]

"What happened to good old Sundays where the pubs would be open only a couple of hours at lunchtime, stores were shut apart from the newsagents and sh!te TV during the day ensured families could socialize or go out and people would not be working??
Are people that f***ing desperate for their £1.79 fake phone charger from China or their sodding meerkats that they will sit longingly by the door on a Sunday eagerly awaiting their next bit of tat??
No wonder stress and depression are prevalent in society. Football was only on Saturday, if we got a good kicking we had Sunday to recover and now we're expected to either work, do shopping, drive up the motorway or order fripperies from Scamazon or feeBay!.


Here here.

[saddlerposty]

oooh happy days, star soccer on a sunday afternoon, tea at me nans and listening to the chart countdown on radio 1 on the way home, watching the black and white minstrel show ( in black and white) before a hot bath, clean pyjamas and bed before school next day.
Never a delivery man in sight, only the vicar delivering his seman sorry sermon.

[Sir Henry]

Are Online Shoppers Failing To Grasp The Reality That You Get The Service You Pay For?
Does The Sense Of Entitlement Of Online Shoppers Really F*ck You Off?

Without online shoppers RM would have resorted to compulsory redundancies years ago .... and not just managerial ones.

Does that mean that their supposed demands really shouldn't get up ones nose?
They could have their purchases whenever they want but they're not willing to pay for such a service.

[bustedflush]

oooh happy days, star soccer on a sunday afternoon, tea at me nans and listening to the chart countdown on radio 1 on the way home, watching the black and white minstrel show ( in black and white) before a hot bath, clean pyjamas and bed before school next day.
Never a delivery man in sight, only the vicar delivering his seman sorry sermon.

Indeed, there no break in the frenetic pace of life now is there? No Sunday 'barrier' that once separated rest from work, no day for human interaction as opposed to 'business as normal'. Life seems to go by in a continuous blur of constant tedium. Like most here I get one full day off a week - and I'm ****ed if I'm spending it working, shopping, driving or waiting for some migrant driver to drop some crap from Scamazon or feeBay at my door. Rant over.

[Budfrog]

Are Online Shoppers Failing To Grasp The Reality That You Get The Service You Pay For?
Does The Sense Of Entitlement Of Online Shoppers Really F*ck You Off?

Without online shoppers RM would have resorted to compulsory redundancies years ago .... and not just managerial ones.

Does that mean that their supposed demands really shouldn't get up ones nose?
They could have their purchases whenever they want but they're not willing to pay for such a service.

It is all about delivering the best possible service at the best possible price, competition is fierce and whilst RM are well placed in terms of capacity they are falling behind other carriers in some areas. They can get up your nose all they like as the customer is not there merely to pay your wages and being a FTSE 100 listed company I wouldn't expect too many favours from the regulator.

[fishtank]

It is all about delivering the best possible service at the best possible price, competition is fierce and whilst RM are well placed in terms of capacity they are falling behind other carriers in some areas.

There is an argument that we'll never compete with the other carriers unless we cut our costs significantly and unfortunately we are looking at cutting our costs at the wrong end, It's not the on the ground delivery costs that are killing us, It's the huge amount of dead wood we have lying about the business doing nothing productive,

For me to get to a DSM who is nothing more than a bog standard area manager in charge of a few hundred frontline staff I would need to go through 4 levels of management, there are 4 managers and two acting managers in our place, 4 work place coaches, umpteen WCM bods and a partridge in a pear tree, for a workplace that has one grade of employee, no particular skill set to worry about and no machinery other than the coffee machine...that's embarrassing. Then we have the planners, trainers and professional thinkers involved in the non-ops side of the business...

Do you think DPD carries that much dead weight?